UNG Newsroom

Military review planned to mark Veterans Day

The University of North Georgia's Corps of Cadets, shown here during a recent review, will honor Veterans Day with a military review at 4 p.m. on Nov. 11.

The University of North Georgia will honor veterans during a military review set for 4 p.m. Nov. 11 on the university's Dahlonega Campus. The event is free and open to the public and will take place on the Gen. William "Lipp" Livsey Drill Field. Veterans and active-duty service members of all armed forces are invited to attend.

"As a senior military college, the University of North Georgia is proud to honor our veterans, who are the pride of our nation. They have fought our wars, defended our shores and kept us free," said Maj. (Retired) Richard Neikirk, assistant commandant of cadets at UNG. "UNG has many veterans – faculty, staff and students. I encourage everyone to go up to those men and women, shake their hand, and give them a hug and a word of thanks. I also encourage everyone to thank their family members who are veterans for their service. It will mean more to them than you may realize."

Maj. Gen. (Retired) William Johnson,an alumnus of UNG, will be the guestspeaker for the university's VeteransDay event.

The guest speaker for the Veterans Day military review will be Maj. Gen. (Retired) William H. Johnson, an alumnus and Distinguished Military Graduate of UNG who served on active duty and in the Army Reserves for 38 years. In 2010, Johnson was appointed to his first term as an Army Reserve ambassador for Georgia. Johnson currently is CEO of DJB Cohort, LLC, an energy products company focused on military applications.

During his service, Johnson was chief of staff of the U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base; commander of the 143rd Transportation Command, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; and commander, 99th Regional Readiness Command, Coraopolis, Penn. He also served as the director of U.S. Central Command Joint Deployment and Distribution Center, and Coalition Forces Land Component Command's director of Movements and Distribution, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Johnson was a senior Army aviator and his awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, and the Bronze Star Medal.

The event will include a review of the university's Corps of Cadets, a drill exhibition by the Blue Ridge Rifles Precision Drill Team, a performance by the Golden Eagle Band, and the Patriot Choir singing the National Anthem.

A proclamation noting UNG's partnership with the Vietnam War Commemoration Society also will be presented during the event. From 2012 through 2025, the United States will mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War to honor the veterans, missing service members, former prisoners of war, and families of those who served during the war.

"We are proud to support Vietnam veterans," Neikirk said. "This Veterans Day, please be sure to thank the Vietnam-era veterans. They did not receive a hero's welcome when they returned home."

UNG is one of only six senior military colleges in the country and has been designated as The Military College of Georgia by the state legislature. UNG also has consistently been recognized as "military friendly" by national publications such as Military Times magazine, GI Jobs magazine and Military Advanced Education magazine.